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PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Wednesday said it is sad and unfortunate to see the media, local and foreign, still attempting to connect him to companies and affairs he has nothing to do with. The MP was referring to reports in Dutch and local media which in his opinion is trying to connect him with Checkmate Security Services and the challenges facing management of the company Read more

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What’S Up?!” With The Great Salt Pond Ms. Margot Van Malenstein (Bsc.) To Host Series Of Workshops At Usm Related To Her Research On The Great Salt Pond (Gsp.

Pond Island, USM, The Great Salt Pond has a vast history, an interesting and supposedly damaged status quo and undefined potential for the future. As this has been a growing concern of some citizens, USM’s Dean of Academics, Ms. Geneve Phillip has accepted an invitation by Ms. Margot van Malenstein to conduct a series of stakeholder’s workshops. Margot, a Biologist who is deeply interested in environmental sustainability, will kick off the discussion by tackling the issue of how we can best sustain and save the national heritage of the Salt Pond Read more

Victorious Living To Feature Artwork Of Local Artists At Awards

COLE BAY – The countdown is on for Victorious Living’s Leader Worth Following Awards on December 3.

At this first Leader Worth Following Awards, VLF will recognize and award Dame Asha Stevens-Mohabier, Ambassador Alicia Liverpool, and posthumously, Officer Gamali Benjamin as leaders worth following. Mhakeda Shillingford, Jim Housen and Roy Cotton, Jr., who were among the finalists, will also be recognized at this event.

Keynote speaker for is certified John C Read more

Paho Urges Stepping Up Nine Measures To End Aids By 2030

Accelerating response in combined prevention, early detection and access to treatment could end the epidemic as a public health problem

Washington, DC, November 29, 2016 (PAHO/WHO) - "Take the challenge. End AIDS" is the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) campaign slogan for World AIDS Day (1 December), which urges governments and society to intensify nine measures to end the epidemic of AIDS by 2030.

Providing and promoting the use of condoms and lubricants, providing HIV testing in areas frequented by the most at-risk populations, and expanding access to pre-exposure (PrEP) and post-exposure (PEP) prophylaxis are some of the measures that, if reinforced, could help end AIDS as a public health problem within 15 years.

Other actions include testing and treating all HIV-positive pregnant women and their newborns to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, providing early treatment for all who need it, ending stigma and discrimination, providing testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted infections that are associated with HIV, and increasing funding.

"HIV remains a threat to global health and requires a strategic global and regional response," said Dr Read more

The HAGUE:--- On November 26th, 2016, Minister Plenipotentiary Henrietta Doran-York, held a Post Sint Maarten Day event, in order to mark the day, with fellow Sint Maarteners residing in The Netherlands.
Minister Doran York and her staff, welcomed Sint Maarteners from various cities throughout The Netherlands, who found their way to the Cabinet, also known as the Sint Maarten House, where they all joined in the commemoration of the nation’s day.
In attendance were among others, many persons who during their younger years, actively contributed to the development of Sint Maarten in various capacities and who, while residing in the Netherlands are still active on a voluntary basis, ensuring that the younger generation of Sint Maarteners, find their way in the Netherlands.
Also participating in the event, were various young professionals and students alike.
In her congratulatory address, the Minister emphasized the need for those in The Netherlands as well as those living on Sint Maarten, to continue to work in harmony and togetherness for the benefit of their Country and its people.
She told those present, that once again, they are experiencing, how coming together, even if for a few hours, can allow all present to reminisce and enjoy each other’s company, while being updated on the latest developments of back home, and discussing what their contribution can be towards helping to build up their young Country.

“We must also always acknowledge our forefathers, who have paved the way for us, and in whose footsteps, we now follow to bring about unity, and the changes and stability needed, as we endeavor to develop our beautiful Sint Maarten”, Minister Doran-York stated.
She encouraged those present to hold their heritage in high esteem, through their actions within the communities in which they work, study and reside, and by being positive examples to the many persons making the Netherlands their home, and in particular the younger ones.
In referring to the collaboration between, the minister and her staff, together with other volunteers to make the evening a resounding success, the Minister said that this was a clear indication of the willingness of our people to come together and unite in an atmosphere of belonging and unity.
“We are a privileged people, and we have so much to be thankful for Read more

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Ruling Jlp Wins Parish Council Elections

KINGSTON, Jamaica  – The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won yesterday’s Local Government Elections, taking eight of the country’s 13 parish councils, including the prized Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, in a poll marked by extremely low voter turnout, signalling widespread disinterest in a governance system hobbled by poor credibility.

Preliminary results at press time last night showed that the JLP had also taken the parish councils in Clarendon, Portland, St Ann, St Elizabeth, St James, St Mary, and Trelawny.

Ties reported in St Thomas and St Catherine will likely be resolved by the official count which could be completed today.

The voter turnout of 30 percent was said to be the lowest in the country’s local government election history.

Last night, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is also the JLP leader, welcomed the party’s second victory at the polls in nine months as a positive response to the JLP’s performance in Government.

However, he warned supporters celebrating the victory at the party’s Belmont Road headquarters in Kingston that the real work to turn around the economy must start today.

“This victory can almost be seen as a referendum on our performance for the last nine months, and Jamaica is saying, you have performed,” Holness told the huge crowd.

He noted that the JLP has moved from controlling none of the island’s municipal corporations (parish councils) to taking charge of at least eight of those councils.

He also pointed out that in the Westmoreland Council, in which there was no JLP representation up to yesterday, the party had improved its position to hold five of the 14 divisions.

He thanked the “very hard-working team of councillors and councillor/caretakers” who represented the party in the election.

“We celebrate tonight as we should, because we deserve this victory,” Holness encouraged the jubilant supporters Read more

HARBOR VIEW:----- On Wednesday, November 23th, 2016, the Representative of the Netherlands in Sint Maarten, Mr. Chris Johnson met with SER Chairwoman Oldine Bryson-Pantophlet, Secretary-General Gerard Richardson and the staff of the SER. Mr. Johnson was appointed as the Dutch Representative in Sint Maarten as per June 1, 2016.
After introductions, the conversation focused on the view both parties have on social and economic development of Sint Maarten Read more

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Leasing Protection Service Launched On St. Maarten.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Landlords are becoming increasingly vigilant about the risk factors associated with renting their properties. Likewise, tenants face challenges with negligent property managers or landlords who refuse to return security deposits despite all terms of the agreement being met by the tenant.

St. Maarten Rent Connect (SRC) is a leasing protection - data management agency, newly established on St. Maarten with the core objective of working in the interest of both the landlord and tenant.

SRC offers services that does the ground work and screening to ensure of a healthy relationship between the landlord and the tenant.

To assist tenants and landlords with establishing a positive rating, SRC tenancy program promotes honesty and reliability by discovering each client via an application and verification process, followed by connecting property owners and renters based on profiles.

The difficulties between landlords and tenants largely stems from a lack of understanding of ones rights and responsibilities Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- By the end of November our Members of Parliament would have been on the job for one month and it is good took to take a look at how well they have represented us during their first month in office.
In the first week, seven of our MPs took part in an orientation week. At the end of the orientation, all five, first-time MPs and two former MP’s received a certificate of participation. Special congratulations to the five new MPs, for taking their position and their function seriously Read more

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Jamaicans Are Voting In Local Government Elections

KINGSTON, Jamaica  –  A total of 489 candidates are competing for 228 divisions, plus the mayoralty of the Portmore community in today’s Local Government Elections.

The battle is really on between the two major political parties, although active independents in St Ann, Westmoreland, St Mary, St James and Hanover could decide the majority in the councils (municipal corporations) in those parishes.

While the weather could have a minor impact on voting today, violence is not expected to play any major part in the electorate’s decision.

From all appearances, the generally high level of crime and violence affecting the country has not interfered with the campaigning by the candidates leading up to today.

“We had a very peaceful campaign right across the country,” Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie, who has been leading the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) campaign, said last night.

“Everywhere we went the reception was excellent Read more

Sneek On Cda Slate

THE HAGUE/ST. EUSTATIUS--St. Eustatius Democratic Party (DP Statia) Councilman Koos Sneek will be running on the slate of the Christian Democratic Party CDA in the March 15, 2017 Dutch Parliamentary elections.

Lee Disappointed In Court Verdict

PHILIPSBURG--Health Minister Emil Lee on Sunday expressed disappointment in last Friday’s court verdict issued based on a lawsuit filed by VAMED against Social Health Insurances SZV regarding the construction of a new general hospital for St. Maarten.

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Exclusive: Judge Slams Uszv, Kmpg, Minister Of Vsa And Smmc With The New Hospital Bidding Procedure --- Uszv Ordered Not To Proceed, $1M Violation Up To A Maximum Of $25M.

The government will have to compensate INSO if they lose completely.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Court of First Instance in its ruling on Friday, November 25th in the injunction filed by VAMED against USZV, slammed USZV, KMPG SMMC and the Minister of VSA Emil Lee with the way the bidding procedure was conducted for the construction of the New Hospital Read more

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Minister Jacobs Visits The Carnival Vista

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs along with culinary art students and faculty of NIPA visited the Carnival Vista cruise ship on Thursday, November 24.

The visit was an educational visit for the culinary art students of NIPA. The students were exposed to the operations of the food and beverage industry of the cruise line Read more

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Sarah Elected New Parliament Chair, Frans Second Vice Chair

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams was elected the new Chairperson of Parliament and United St. Maarten Party (Read more

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Council Of Ministers Meet With Representatives Of Sol, Us Laundry And Nv Gebe

PHILIPSBURG – On Thursday, November 24, the Council of Ministers met with management of the three major industries operating in the Cay Bay area: SOL, US Laundry and NV GEBE, to discuss the environmental and health situation at hand.

While Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs, has been addressing the situation in the Cay Bay area for the past couple of weeks, the complaints of residents in that area as well as of the Miss Lalie Center have increased.  For this reason, the Council, upon request of Minister Jacobs, called for the urgent meetings.

SOL, represented by the Operations Manager Robert James and Bernard Cumberbatch, Senior Engineer from SOL Corporate office, explained to the Council that the company is the distributor of end products to their users Read more

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Ambulance Dept. Personnel In Training 

PHILIPSBURG – Ambulance Department personnel of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor are participating in a week-long session in Advanced Life Support (ALS) training that started on November 21, and will run through November 25, in collaboration with the medical staff of the Dutch Marines and Fire Department.

“Facilitating this training for the Ambulance Department will ultimately benefit the entire population of St. Maarten in pre-hospital ambulance care Read more

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Council Of Ministers Meet With Representatives Of Sol, Us Laundry And Nv Gebe.

POND ISLAND:--- On Thursday, November 24, 2016 the Council of Ministers met with the management of the three major industries operating in the Cay Bay area – SOL, US Laundry and NV GEBE - to discuss the environmental and health situation at hand. While Minister of Education, Ms. Silveria Jacobs, has been addressing the situation in the Cay Bay area for the last couple of weeks, the complaints of residents in that area as well as of the Miss Lalie Center have increased Read more

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L’Esperance Airport Opens A Brand New Terminal Building

GRAND CASE--The first phase of a major 5.6 million-euro renovation to Grand Case’s L’Esperance Airport was inaugurated Tuesday evening by President of SNC-Lavalin Airports Youssef Sabeh and local dignitaries Préfète Déléguée Anne Laubies, Member of Parliament (MP) Daniel Gibbs, and President of the Collectivité Read more

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Fundraising Proceeds to empower and transform the lives of struggling families and youth

PORT DE PLAISANCE:--- In a world in which radio talk shows, employees, and the general public tend to lambaste political and other leaders for a lack of integrity and transparency, it is refreshing to know that leaders worth following still exist on St. Martin and the world. Therefore, on December 3rd, 2016, Victorious Living will host VLF’s Leader Worth Following Awards at La Terrasse Port de Plaisance from 7-9:30 pm Read more

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A Second Chance To Do Things Right

St. James, Marigot – I would like to thank all the voters in St. Martin who came out to vote on the occasion of the 1st round, last Saturday, November 19, of the Primary of the Right and Center.

I also want to thank the voters who voted for Alain Juppé and made it possible for him to earn 128 votes. This placed him in third place and 44 votes behind Nicolas Sarkozy who placed first on Saint Martin, but who was ultimately eliminated from the contest and soundly rejected at both the Overseas and the National level.

François Fillon’s surprising and brilliant performance is to be congratulated and Alain Juppé took precedence in the Overseas Territories while earning 28% of the overall vote Read more

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“Reach Out Speak Out” Sunset Walk

PHILIPSBURG – Safe Haven in collaboration with the Elektralyets Foundation presented their “Reach Out Speak Out” Sunset Walk against Domestic Violence for women and girls on November 25.

Elektralyets Foundation President Mercedes van der Waals-Wyatt was approached by Safe Haven as a community mobilizer to help with awareness activities and events against Domestic Violence Campaigns for Safe Haven.

“I wanted to do something different and innovative to get the attention of persons in our community to realize that women are suffering every day Read more

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Victorious Living Honours Officer Gamali Benjamin At Fundraising Awards

COLE BAY, Sint Maarten — In a world in which radio talk shows, employees, and the general public tend to lambaste political and other leaders for a lack of integrity and transparency, it is refreshing to know that leaders worth following still exist in St. Maarten and the world.

On December 3, Victorious Living will host VLF’s Leader Worth Following Awards at La Terrasse, Port-de-Plaisance from 7:00pm-9:30pm. This inspirational event is designed to encourage, stimulate and inspire leaders to be leaders worth following Read more

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Frans: Us Party ‘Seriously Busy’ With New Government Formation

PHILIPSBURG--“We are committed and still seriously busy with finalizing the formation process,” said United St. Maarten Party (US Party) Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Tuesday.

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